Chess has endured variations for centuries. With its origin in India at around 600 AD, the game traveled from continent to continent along trade routes. The rules were changed along the way, with many variations evolving from the original game. Modern chess lovers continue to honor this tradition, creating their own rules and variations. Hundreds of modern variants are available for your pleasure, and many of them have war themes. For instance, in one variation, you can ransom pieces and paratrooper them back into the board. You can play most variants with your standard chess pieces, but some require additional equipment.

Battle Chess

In the 1980s, “Battle Chess” took standard chess game-play and combined it with death animations whenever a piece is captured. It is often times humorous, as when the rook captures the queen and swallows her completely while grinning. Download trial versions of the PC game for free online and play against the computer or against human opponents. Games like “Battle Chess” are still in production for both PC and console.

Free Computer Opponent Chess Games

If you want to play chess against a computer opponent, there are a number of options available. You can download free programs from the internet or you can play against computer opponents in your browser. The game is the same, but you can play without needing a human partner.

Free Human Opponent Chess Games

The traditional version of chess is a war game at heart. While the graphics are simple, the strategy is not. People devote their entire lives to studying the game. Fight for position, territory and key targets, all while controlling an entire army. You can play traditional chess online versus human opponents at a variety of site with no fees, software or membership required.